Draft Profile: Lane Johnson's transformation

Indianapolis --- Sleep through this year's NBA Dunk Contest? You're probably not alone. Commissioner David Stern could have gotten creative and given one offensive tackle from Oklahoma a call.

The rumors are true. The 303-pound Lane Johnson can pull off a 360-degree dunk.

"Only 360," he said. "I can’t pull a 540 or nothing like that. It was a lot easier when I was a little bit lighter. But I can still do it."

Johnson is not your typical offensive lineman here at the NFL scouting combine. On Friday, he said he wanted to break the Combine record in the 40 for an offensive lineman. On Saturday, he nearly did that. Johnson ran a 4.72, barely edged out by Terron Armstead (4.65). More telling, Johnson was the fastest lineman out of a stance, clocking in at 1.61 seconds in his 10-yard split.

Across the board, Johnson impressed scouts. He posted a 34-inch vertical leap, a 118-inch broad jump and finished with 28 reps on the bench.

A quarterback at his Texas high school, Johnson is the most athletic lineman in this year's NFL draft.

Out of high school, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Johnson didn't get many offers, so he decided to attend junior college. He played quarterback at Kilgore Junior College, switched to tight end and bulked up to 255 pounds. With 4.5 speed, Johnson earned a scholarship offer from Oklahoma. From there, he has tried to continue adding weight without sacrificing his athleticism.

This switch got off to a cold start. When Bob Stoops originally asked Johnson to move to tackle, he wasn't thrilled.

"I told him 'no' at first," Johnson said. "Then in one of the pass-rush drills they switched me there, and I’ve been stuck there ever since. ...I thought he was joking or lying to me at first; I didn’t really believe him. After I found out he was serious, I took it a little bit more into consideration."

Given a choice, Johnson says he'd still take the touchdown pass over the pancake block but his draft stock continues to rise at tackle. In time, he improved with the Sooners. And at the Senior Bowl, Johnson played with a surprisingly strong base against bull rushers in 1-on-1 drills. Johnson -- who believes he only has 15% body fat -- will need that technique in the pros.

As a junior with the Sooners, Johnson admits he was still a “deer in the headlights.” As a senior, he molded into a first-round prospect.

“Going into my senior year I knew I had the ability," he said. "My main goal was to put all the pieces together with my footwork and my hands. That’s what I tried to do.”

After a strong performance this week to follow the Senior Bowl, Johnson has positioned himself well with the other top tackles in this year's draft class.

Johnson says the quarterback experience helps him, too.

“When you’re playing quarterback, you kind of know where things are coming from, defensive linemen, where blitzes are coming from,” Johnson said. “Now playing tackle, you kind of know how it feels to get blindsided, when you can’t see what’s coming. I think it definitely helps as far as blitz protections.

"This is totally new to me. I’ve always been the low man on the totem pole trying to work my way up. Now that I’ve accomplished some things, I know I have a lot more to work on heading into the NFL. Just because you made it to the NFL doesn’t mean you’ve made it in the NFL – that was a quote by Robert Griffin last year. But I think it stands pretty true."

About Tyler Dunne

Tyler Dunne covers the Green Bay Packers. He has been on the beat since 2011, winning awards with the Pro Football Writers of America and Milwaukee Press Club.